Medina House was a Turkish bath in days gone by but has stood empty, apart for a series of squatters, for 18 years. The owner – Sirus Taghan – has submitted a series of planning applications but none that have been considered fitting for the Cliftonville Conservation area site.

The most recently rejected proposals would have included nine apartments, basement parking for nine cars and a restaurant on the ground floor. The Planning Inspectorate concluded that such a development would “cause significant harm to the townscape and to the historic interest of the locality”.